The Philippines has been battling insurgents for decades but its worst armed conflict was in Marawi in Mindanao, which started in May this year and lasted five months before troops reclaimed the city from pro-Islamic State (IS) groups.
More than 1,100 people, mostly militants, were killed in the Marawi battle where the Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups tried to create a so-called IS caliphate in the region.
“We are very keen to see the resolve of the Philippine government,” Nathan Sales, ambassador-at-large and the state department’s coordinator for counter-terrorism, said during a telephonic press briefing yesterday.
“They have routed IS from the territory controlled by the terror group. That was a great success. The question now is what comes next,” he said.
Sales also cautioned against “celebrating” the victory by the Philippine army in defeating the militants, saying the region must also consider those who got away to take their fight elsewhere.
“The international community as well as western and neighbouring nations like Malaysia and Indonesia should assist the government of the Philippines in making sure foreign and local fighters involved in the Marawi and other conflicts are not able to head elsewhere.”
Debate has been ongoing among experts and the authorities about the movement of foreign fighters in the region.
One camp says defeated fighters, both locals and foreigners, will stay put to regroup in other areas while another says they may go to other nations with conflicts, such as southern Thailand and Myanmar.
In the Philippines, IS has several affiliates such as the Abu Sayyaf, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, the Maute group or what’s left of it after the Marawi war and other groups.
The insurgent group in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, is also feared to eventually become a jihadi affiliate despite the insistence that their struggle is purely an internal affair to fight for the Rohingya’s rights.
Both IS and Al-Qaeda have called for Muslims in the region to fight Myanmar forces alleged to have persecuted the Rohingya in Rakhine.
Sales said the rise of IS affiliates in the region should be a concern for all.
“We are worried about the rise of IS affiliates globally. We have certainly seen more IS affiliates’ and IS-inspired attacks in western countries and also in Southeast Asia.
“Also, we have seen IS’ resolve in the Marawi campaign done by IS affiliates. This should be a concern for all of us.”
Malaysian terrorists had bigger role to play in Marawi than in Syria, Iraq